A 19-month-old child in the northern Vietnamese province of Vinh Phuc has been saved from a critical condition after being left inside a closed car in the sun for two hours.

The baby boy was left in his family’s car around 12:00 pm on Monday, when a family member, who had driven him around, became occupied and forgot about his presence.

The baby stayed in the car, which was parked outdoor in the sun, for about two hours with no air conditioning as the vehicle was not running.

By the time the family found out about him, the child had lost consciousness, suffering from fecal incontinence.

After receiving first aid at a communal health station, the baby was transferred to Lap Thach District’s health center, where he went into convulsions with his body temperature measured at 41 degrees Celsius.

Realizing that the baby’s condition could be life-threatening, doctors at the district health center transferred him to Vinh Phuc Province General Hospital.

The boy was admitted to the emergency ward at the provincial infirmary in a coma. 

Through examination, the doctors concluded that he had suffered from heat stroke due to being in the hot car for too long.

His test results returned with abnormal indicators, including coagulation disorders, electrolyte disorders, and low blood potassium levels.

Doctors promptly resuscitated the boy and gradually stabilized his conditions. However, the boy still requires follow-ups.

Dr. Nguyen Van Huy, head of the emergency ward, said if doctors had intervened only a bit later, the baby might have faced a high risk of sequela and had little chance of making a full recovery.

The hospital’s doctors made use of every second to save the child, Huy said.

Doctors warned that leaving children in closed cars in the sun with no air conditioning is very dangerous.

In August 2019, a first grader in Hanoi died after he had apparently been neglected for hours in a van contracted by his school to transport students.

One month later, a three-year-old child was found locked inside a kindergarten’s school bus for hours in the northern province of Bac Ninh, but was fortunately rescued.

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